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MASTERS  IN  ART 


^m^jffllu9tratEd-iIipnojarapl)3 


Among  the  artists  to  be  considered  during  the  current,  1905, 
Volume  may  be  mentioned  Fra  Filippo  Lippi,  Sir  Henry  Rae- 
burn, Claude  Lorrain,  Memlinc,  and  Verrocchio.  The  num- 
bers of  4 Masters  in  Art 1 which  have  already  appeared  in 
1905  are : 

WATTS 
. PALMA  VECCHIO 


Part  61,  JANUARY 
Part  62,  FEBRUARY 


Part  63,  MARCH 
Part  64,  APRIL 
Part  65,  MAY 
Part  66,  JUNE  . 


MADAME  VIGEE  LE  BRUN 
MANTEGNA 
. CHARDIN 
. BENOZZO  GOZZOLI 


PART  67,  THE  ISSUE  FOR 

fuly 


WILL  TREAT  OF 


3lan  g>tcrn 


NUMBERS  ISSUED  IN  PREVIOUS  VOLUMES 
OF  ‘MASTERS  IN  ART’ 


VOL.  1. 


VOL.  2. 


Part 

1 

—VAN  DYCK 

Part 

13. 

—RUBENS 

Part 

2 

—TITIAN 

Part 

14- 

—DA  VINCI 

Part 

3 

— VELASQUEZ 

Part 

I5- 

— DURER 

Part 

4 

— HOLBEIN 

Part 

16. 

— MICHELANGELO* 

Part 

5 

— BOTTICELLI 

Part 

17. 

— MI CHELANGELOf 

Part 

6 

—REMBRANDT 

Part 

18. 

—COROT 

Part 

7 

—REYNOLDS 

Part 

19- 

—BURNE-JONES 

Part 

8 

— MILLET 

Part 

20. 

—TER  BORCH 

Part 

9 

— GIO.  BELLINI 

Part 

21. 

—DELLA  ROBBIA 

Part  10 

—MURILLO 

Part 

22. 

—DEL  SARTO 

Part 

11 

—HALS 

Part 

21- 

—GAINSBOROUGH 

Part 

12 

—RAPHAEL 

Part 

24. 

—CORREGGIO 

* Sculpture 

VOL.  3. 

Part  25.— PHIDIAS 
Part  26.-PERUGINO 
Part  27. -HOLBEIN  § 
Part  28. — TINTORETTO 
Part  29.- P.  deHOOCH 
Part  jo. — NATTIER 


f Painting 

VOL.  4. 

Part  37.—  ROMNEY 
Part  38.— FRA  ANGELICO 
Part  39.— WATTEAU 
Part  40.  - RAPHAEL* 
Part  41— DON ATELLO 
Part  42.— GERARD  DOU 


Part  31.— PAUL  POTTER  Part  43.— CARPACCIO 


Part  32.— GIOTTO 
Part  33.— PR AXITELES 
Part  34. — HOGARTH 
Part  35.— TURNER 
Part  36.— LUINI 

§ Drawings 

VOL 

Part  49,  JANUARY 
Part  50,  FEBRUARY 
Part  51,  MARCH 
Part  52,  APRIL 
Part  53,  MAY 
Part  54,  JUNE 
Part  55,  JULY 
Part  56,  AUGUST 
PART157,  SEPTEMBER 
Part  58,  OCTOBER 
Part  59,  NOVEMBER 
Part  60,  DECEMBER 


Part  44.— ROSA  BONHEUR 
Part  45.— GUIDO  RENI 
Part  46.— P.  deCHAVANNES 
Part  47.— GIORGIONE 
Part  48.— ROSSETTI 
Frescos 


5. 

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1$rnof?o  45o^olt 


FLORENTINE  SCHOOL 





MASTERS  Ilf  ART  PRATE  II 


PHOTOGRAPH  BY  ANDERSON 

[215] 


BE^OZZO  GOZZOEI 

THE  PROCESSION  OE  THE  MAGI  [ II  ETA  IE  ] 
CHAPEE  OE  TIIE  RICCARDI  PALACE,  EEORENCE 








MASTEES  IIST  AHT  ELATE  III 


PHOTOGRAPH  BY  ANDERSON 

[217] 


EEA’OZZO  GOZZOLT 
EAHADISE 

CHAEKL  OF  THE  EICCAELI  PALACE,  ELOHENCE 


. 

- 


MASTEPS  IN  APT  PI, ATE  IV  BENOZZO  GOZZOLt 

photograph  by  alinari  ST.  J'HANCIS  EXPELLING  DEVILS  FKOM  AKE/.ZO 

[210]  CHUHCU  OE  SAX  EPANCESCO,  MOXTEEA LCO 


MASTERS  IN  ART  PLATE  V 


PHOTOGRAPH  BY  ALINARI 
[221] 


BENOZZO  GOZZOBI 

CEREBRATION  OF  THE  NATIVITY  AT  GRECCrO 
CHURCH  OP'  SAN  FRANCESCO,  MONTEP’ALCO 


Cfi 

<5 


S 


iTEIiS  IN  AKT  PLATE  VI  BENOZZO  GOZZOLI 

photograph  by  alinari  ENTBANCE  OE  ST.  AUGUSTINE  INTO  THE  GBAMMAE-SCHOOL 

[223]  GHUBCH  OE  SANT’  AGOSTINO,  SAN  GIMIGNANO 


UENOZZO  GOZZOUI 

ST.  AUGUSTINE  VISITS  THE  MONKS  OE  MONTE  PISANO 
CHUKCH  OF  SANT’  AGOSTINO,  SAN  GIMIGNANO 


MASTEHS  IN  AKT  ELATE  IX  HENOZZO  GOZZOLI 

PHOTOGRAPH  BY  BRAUN,  CLEMENT  & CIE  THE  HAPE  OK  HELEN 

[ 2-29  ] NATIONAL  GALLERY,  LONDON 


MASTEHS  IJST  AKT  PLATE  X BENOZZO  GOZZOEI 

photograph  by  alinari  THE  VINTAGE  [ DETAIL  I'BOM  THE  DBUNKENNESS  OE  NOAh] 


POET.H  A IT  OF  BEAOZZO  GOZZOLI  BY  HIMSELF 
CHAPEL  OB'  THE  BICCAKDI  PALACE,  FLOHEJXCE 

In  the  procession  of  horsemen  in  the  suite  of  the  Magian  kings,  painted  by  Benozzo 
Gozzoli  on  the  walls  of  the  Chapel  of  the  Riccardi  Palace,  Florence  (see  plate 
i j,  the  artist  has  introduced  the  portrait  of  himself  here  reproduced.  He  wears 
a red  jacket  trimmed  with  white  fur,  and  a red  cap  bearing  in  gilt  letters  an  inscrip- 
tion which  states  that  he  is  the  author  of  the  work.  As  the  frescos  in  the  chapel 
were  painted  between  1456  and  1460,  this  portrait  shows  him  at  the  age  of  from 
thirtv-six  to  forty  years. 


[232] 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


25eno330  Di  liege  tii  c&anDro 

CALLED 

t$etto^o  (Ho^olt 

BORN  1420  : DIED  1498 
FLORENTINE  SCHOOL 


JULIA  CARTWRIGHT  ‘THE  PAINTERS  OF  FLORENCE’ 

BENOZZO  DI  LESE  DI  SANDRO,  called  Benozzo  Gozzoli 1 — Ben- 
ozzo  the  thick-throated — was  the  son  of  a small  Florentine  trades- 
man— literally  a waistcoat-maker,  named  Lese  di  Sandro.  He  was  born 
in  1420,  and,  like  many  of  his  contemporaries,  learned  the  trade  of  both 
painter  and  goldsmith  in  his  boyhood.  From  1444  to  1447  he  worked  with 
Lorenzo  Ghiberti  on  the  second  of  his  gates  for  the  Baptistery  of  Florence, 
and  acquired  from  him  that  taste  for  landscape  and  architecture,  and  love  of 
pleasant  details  and  accessories,  which  marked  his  future  work.  In  1447  Fra 
Angelico,  under  whom  Benozzo  may  have  studied  as  a boy,  took  the  young 
artist  with  him  to  Rome,  and  employed  him  both  in  the  Vatican  Chapel  there 
and  at  Orvieto,  where  Benozzo’s  hand  can  be  clearly  traced  in  the  pyramidal 
groups  of  saints  and  prophets  on  the  roof  of  San  Brizio’s  Chapel  in  the  cathe- 
dral of  the  town.  When  Fra  Angelico  returned  to  Florence  his  assistant  offered 
to  complete  the  work  which  he  had  left  unfinished  at  Orvieto,  but  the  Direc- 
tors of  the  Cathedral  Works  declined  his  proposal,  and  the  decoration  of  the 
chapel  walls  was  only  carried  out  fifty  years  later  by  Luca  Signorelli. 

The  frescos  of  the  Cesarini  Chapel  in  the  Church  of  Santa  Maria  in  Aracoeli, 
Rome,  which  Benozzo  next  undertook,  have  all  perished,  excepting  one  figure, 
which  is  exactly  imitated  from  Fra  Angelico,  and  represents  St.  Anthony  of 
Padua  with  a flame  in  one  hand  and  a book  in  the  other. 

In  1450  Benozzo  was  invited  to  Montefalco,  one  of  the  hill-set  cities  of 
Umbria,  and  painted  the  altar-piece  of ‘The  Assumption,’  nowin  the  Lateran 
Museum,  Rome,  as  well  as  several  frescos  in  the  Church  of  San  Fortunato, 
and  twelve  scenes  from  the  life  of  St.  Francis  in  the  choir  of  the  Church  of  San 
Francesco.  The  old  stories  which  Giotto  had  painted  one  hundred  and  fifty 

1 Pronounced  Ben-ot/zo  Goe'zo-le. 

[233] 


24 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


years  before,  in  the  neighboring  town  of  Assisi,  are  here  repeated  by  Fra  An- 
gelico’s pupil  in  his  master’s  style,  with  the  addition  of  groups  of  men  and 
women  in  contemporary  costumes,  and  many  homely  incidents  of  his  own 
invention.  The  portraits  of  Dante,  Giotto,  and  Petrarch  are  introduced  among 
the  medallions  of  Franciscan  saints  under  the  windows,  each  with  an  appro- 
priate Latin  inscription,  which  reminds  us  of  the  humanist  tendencies  of  the 
age.  Dante  is  described  as  ‘‘a  theologian,  ignorant  of  no  learning,”  Petrarch 
as  “the  laureate,  monarch  of  all  virtues,”  while  Giotto  is  called  “the  founda- 
tion and  light  of  painting.” 

A side-chapel  in  the  same  church  contains  a graphic  representation  by  Ben- 
ozzo’s  hand  of  St.  Jerome  pulling  out  the  thorn  from  the  lion’s  foot,  in  the 
presence  of  a band  of  terrified  friars,  while  in  1453  he  executed  another  series 
of  frescos  on  the  life  of  Santa  Rosa  of  Lima  in  a Franciscan  convent  at  Viterbo,, 
which  were  still  in  existence  in  the  seventeenth  century. 

On  his  way  back  to  Florence  Benozzo  visited  Perugia  and  painted  the 
picture  of  ‘The  Madonna  and  Saints/  which  is  now  in  the  town  gallery, 
and  bears  the  date  of  1456.  Both  this  altar-piece  and  the  Montefalco  fres- 
cos were  destined  to  have  a marked  influence  on  the  development  of  the 
Umbrian  school.  The  poetic  naturalism  and  love  of  ornament,  together  with 
that  tender  devotional  feeling  which  Benozzo  inherited  from  his  master,  ap- 
pealed in  an  especial  manner  to  the  dwellers  in  these  Umbrian  valleys,  and  a 
Foligno  artist,  named  Pier  Antonio,  who  had  worked  with  Benozzo  Gozzoli 
at  Montefalco,  handed  on  these  traditions  to  Bonfigli  and  his  companions  at 
Perugia. 

Meanwhile  Benozzo  returned  to  Florence,  where  the  Medici  welcomed  him 
with  open  arms.  Andrea  del  Castagno  and  Francesco  Pesellino  had  died 
lately,  Fra  Angelico  was  no  more,  and  Fra  Filippo  Lippi  had  gone  to  Prato  in 
disgrace.  The  moment  was  a fortunate  one,  and  Benozzo  Gozzoli  soon  found 
himself  intrusted  with  the  important  task  of  decorating  the  Chapel  of  the 
Medici  Palace,  now  the  Riccardi.  The  subject  chosen  by  his  patrons  was 
‘The  Adoration  of  the  Magi,’  that  favorite  theme  of  Florentine  painters,  and 
which  Benozzo  now  set  forth  in  one  great  fresco  on  the  walls  of  this  little  ora- 
tory. All  the  festive  pomp  and  splendor  of  court  pageants  which  the  Medici 
had  brought  into  the  simple  life  of  old  Florence,  all  the  beauty  and  the  glamour 
of  fairy  romance,  are  gathered  up  in  this  triumphal  procession  of  the  three 
kings,  journeying  over  hill  and  vale  on  their  way  to  the  manger  at  Bethlehem. 
Following  in  their  steps  is  a brilliant  train  of  courtiers,  winding  their  way  over 
the  rocky  Apennines  and  down  the  green  slopes,  where  tall  bell-towers  and 
white  villas  and  chapels  peep  out  among  the  oliveand  cypress  groves,  and  nar- 
row paths  lead  down  into  fruitful  valleys  watered  by  clear  streams.  . . . From 
the  pomp  and  glory  of  earthly  splendor  we  turn  to  the  cradle  of  Bethlehem, 
and  are  given  a glimpse  of  the  unseen.  This  Benozzo  has  painted  for  us  on  the 
east  wall  of  the  chapel.  Here  cypresses  and  pines  grow  tall  and  straight,  roses 
and  pomegranates  hang  in  clusters  from  the  boughs,  while  choirs  of  angels 
chant  the  Gloria  in  Excelsis , or  kneel  in  silent  adoration  around  the  manger 
throne. 


[234  ] 


BENOZZO  GOZZOLI 


25 


Such  was  the  vision  which  Fra  Angelico’s  scholar  painted  in  the  hot  sum- 
mer months  when  the  Medici  were  enjoying  rest  and  the  pleasures  of  rural  life 
in  their  favorite  country  houses.  Three  letters  which  Benozzo  addressed  to 
Piero  de’  Medici,  who  was  entertaining  illustrious  guests  at  his  villa  of  Careggi, 
show  how  entirely  his  heart  was  in  his  work  and  how  anxious  he  was  to  perfect 
every  detail  of  his  frescos.  In  the  first,  written  on  the  tenth  of  July,  he  ac- 
knowledges a letter  from  Piero,  who  had,  it  appears,  taken  objection  to  certain 
small  cherubs  in  the  corner  of  the  fresco,  and  explains  that  they  cannot  inter- 
fere with  the  rest  of  the  picture,  since  only  the  tips  of  their  wings  are  allowed 
to  be  seen.  But  since  Piero  desires  it,  he  will  paint  two  white  clouds  in  the  sky 
and  cause  the  offending  seraphs  to  disappear.  He  would  come  to  Careggi  him- 
self and  see  Piero  on  the  subject  if  it  were  not  for  the  great  heat,  which  will, 
he  fears,  spoil  the  azure  which  he  has  begun  to  lay  on.  But  he  hopes  Piero 
will  come  to  see  the  work  before  this  part  of  the  scaffolding  is  removed.  In  the 
meantime  two  florins  will  suffice  for  his  present  needs.  “I  am  working  with 
all  my  might,”  he  adds,  “and  if  I fail,  it  will  be  from  lack  of  knowledge,  not 
from  want  of  zeal.  God  knows  I have  no  other  thought  in  my  heart  but  how 
best  to  perfect  my  work  and  satisfy  your  wishes.” 

On  the  eleventh  of  September  Benozzo  writes  another  letter  to  Piero,  whom 
he  calls  his  dearest  friend — amico  mio  singularissimo  — reminding  him  that 
he  had  not  sent  him  the  forty  florins  for  which  the  painter  had  asked  in  order 
that  he  might  be  able  to  buy  corn  and  provisions  while  they  were  still  cheap. 
“I  had,”  he  adds,  “a  great  thought,  which  was  not  to  ask  you  for  any  money 
until  you  had  seen  the  work,  but  necessity  compels  me  to  make  this  request, 
so  forgive  me,  for,  God  knows,  I only  seek  to  please  you.  And  I must  remind 
you  once  more  to  send  to  Venice  for  some  azure,  because  this  wall  will  be 
finished  this  week,  and  I shall  need  the  blue  color  for  the  brocades  and  other 
parts  of  the  figures.” 

On  the  twenty-fifth  he  writes  a third  letter,  telling  Piero  of  a Genoese  mer- 
chant who  has  fifteen  hundred  pieces  of  fine  gold  for  sale,  some  of  which  he 
will  require  for  his  work,  and  begging  for  ten  more  florins  to  pay  for  the  azure 
which  he  had  bought  at  two  florins  the  ounce  from  the  prior  of  the  Gesuati, 
whose  ultramarine  was  famous  throughout  Italy. 

I had  meant  to  come  and  see  you  last  Sunday,  but  the  bad  weather  frightened  me. 
Now  I am  at  work  on  the  other  wall,  and  hope  to  finish  the  fresco  in  another  week. 
And  it  seems  to  me  a thousand  years  until  your  Magnificence  shall  be  here  to  see  for 
yourself  if  you  are  satisfied  with  the  work!  May  Christ  keep  you  in  his  favor! 

Your  Benozzo,  Painter  in  Florence. 

The  pains  which  Benozzo  bestowed  upon  his  task  were  not  thrown  away, 
and  we  find  no  trace  of  the  haste  and  carelessness  of  drawing  which  too  often 
marred  his  work.  The  subject  was  admirably  suited  to  his  powers,  and  none 
of  his  later  frescos  are  so  entirely  successful  as  these  in  the  Chapel  of  the  Ric- 
cardi  Palace. 

His  position  as  the  best  fresco-painter  of  the  day  was  now  established,  and 
new  commissions  poured  in  upon  him  from  all  sides.  About  this  time  he  mar- 
ried a girl  named  Mona  Lena,  who  was  twenty  years  younger  than  himself 

[235] 


26 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


and  bore  him  a family  of  seven  children.  In  the  same  year  he  bought  a house 
in  the  Via  del  Cocomero,  Florence,  as  well  as  lands  outside  the  city  walls,  and 
was  in  prosperous  circumstances  during  the  rest  of  his  life,  being,  as  Vasari 
remarks,  both  indefatigable  in  his  industry  and  irreproachable  in  his  conduct. 

In  1463  he  went  to  the  mountain  city  of  San  Gimignano,  and  there,  in  Dante’s 
“town  of  the  beautiful  towers,”  he  painted  another  great  cycle  of  frescos  on 
the  life  of  St.  Augustine.  This  time  his  patron  was  Domenico  Strambi,  a 
learned  Augustinian  friar,  who  had  lectured  in  philosophy  at  Oxford  and 
Paris,  and  went  by  the  name  of  Doctor  Parisinus,  from  his  long  residence  in 
the  French  capital.  The  seventeen  subjects  with  which  the  painter  adorned 
the  choir  of  the  Augustinian  church  were,  no  doubt,  chosen  by  the  learned 
doctor,  whose  portrait  appears  in  another  large  fresco  of  St.  Sebastian  pro- 
tecting the  people  of  San  Gimignano  from  the  plague;  but  the  charming  fancy 
and  lively  humor  of  the  different  stories  are  all  Benozzo’s  own.  . . . 

Unfortunately  the  artist  too  often  traded  on  his  reputation,  and  the  numer- 
ous altar-pieces  which  he  painted  for  neighboring  churches  and  convents  dur- 
ing the  three  years  that  he  spent  at  San  Gimignano  are  executed  with  a haste 
and  carelessness  that  are  quite  unworthy  of  him.  No  doubt  he  was  largely 
assisted  by  inferior  painters,  and  the  resemblance  which  many  of  his  figures 
bear,  both  in  type  and  stature,  to  those  of  Fra  Filippo  Lippi  is  expla  ned  by 
the  fact  that  one  of  that  artist’s  former  assistants,  Giusto  di  Andrea,  worked 
under  him  at  San  Gimignano.  It  was  to  intercede  for  Giusto’s  brother,  who 
had  been  caught  in  the  act  of  stealing  the  monks’  bedclothes  at  Certaldo, 
that  Benozzo  wrote  a letter  to  young  Lorenzo  de’  Medici,  whom  he  addresses 
as  “Most  dear  to  me  in  Christ,”  lamenting  the  scandal  which  his  apprentice 
had  caused,  and  explaining  that  up  till  this  time  he  had  always  borne  an  ex- 
cellent character.  “ But,  perhaps,”  he  adds,  “God  has  allowed  this  to  happen 
for  some  good  end.”  In  the  meantime  he  thanks  Lorenzo — who  had  already, 
it  appears,  intervened  in  the  matter — for  his  good  offices  with  the  vicar  of 
Certaldo,  and  ends  with  renewed  protestations  of  devotion  to  himself  and  his 
house,  praying  that  Christ  may  be  with  him  in  eternity. 

This  letter  is  dated  July  4,  1467,  when  Benozzo  Gozzoli  was  still  busily  en- 
gaged on  his  works  at  San  Gimignano.  By  the  end  of  the  year,  however,  he 
had  left  for  Pisa,  where  a new  and  gigantic  task  was  awaiting  him.  This  was 
the  decoration  of  the  north  wall  of  the  Campo  Santo,  which  had  been  left  un- 
finished ever  since  Puccio  da  Orvieto  had  painted  his  three  subjects  of ‘The 
Creation,’  ‘The  Death  of  Abel,’  and  ‘The  Flood,’  eighty  years  before.  On  the 
ninth  of  January,  1468,  he  signed  a contract  with  the  magistrates  of  Pisa,  by 
which  he  agreed  to  cover  the  remainder  of  the  north  wall  with  frescos,  at  the 
price  of  sixty-six  florins  for  each  subject,  “a  task,”  says  Vasari,  “immense 
enough  to  discourage  a whole  legion  of  painters.”  But  Benozzo  was  not  the 
man  to  shrink  from  any  work,  however  arduous,  and  the  twenty-four  large 
frescos  which  he  painted  during  the  next  sixteen  years,  on  the  wall  of  the 
Campo  Santo,  show  that,  whatever  the  limitations  of  his  art  might  be,  his  in- 
vention was  as  fertile,  his  fancy  as  fresh  and  bright,  as  ever.  . . . 

The  final  payment  which  Benozzo  received  for  the  last  fresco  of  the  series, 

[236] 


BENOZZO  GOZZOLI 


27 


‘The  Visit  of  the  Queen  of  Sheba,’  bears  the  date  of  May  n,  1484.  During 
the  sixteen  years  that  he  worked  at  the  Campo  Santo  he  had  found  time  to 
execute  frescos  at  Volterra  and  Castel  Fiorentino,  as  well  as  altar-pieces  for 
the  churches  and  convents  of  Pisa  and  the  neighborhood,  the  best  of  which  is 
‘The  Triumph  of  St.  Thomas  Aquinas,’  now  in  the  Louvre,  Paris. 

The  painter  had  taken  his  family  with  him  to  Pisa,  where  he  bought  a house 
of  his  own  in  the  Via  Santa  Maria,  and  brought  his  old  father,  Lese  di  Sandro, 
to  spend  his  last  days  under  his  roof.  But  he  still  owned  a house  in  Florence, 
and  paid  occasional  visits  to  his  native  city.  In  the  income-tax  return  of  1480 
he  describes  himself  as  sixty,  and  his  wife  as  forty,  and  gives  the  ages  of  his 
seven  children  as  ranging  from  eighteen  to  one  year.  His  eldest  son,  a youth 
of  eighteen,  is  described  as  still  going  to  school;  the  second  boy,  of  thirteen,  is 
studying  mathematics;  while  the  dowry  of  his  eldest  daughter,  Bartolommea, 
a girl  of  fifteen,  who  married  a Florentine  burgher,  is  fixed  at  350  florins,  and 
that  of  his  youngest,  the  infant  Maria,  has  not  yet  been  determined. 

The  last  mention  we  find  of  Benozzo  Goz.zoli  is  in  January,  1497,  when, 
together  with  Perugino,  Filippo  Lippi,  and  Cosimo  Rosselli,  he  valued  Alessio 
Baldovinetti’s  frescos  in  the  Church  of  Santa  Trinita,  Florence.  Early  in  the 
next  year  he  died,  and  was  buried  in  the  Campo  Santo,  Pisa,  immediately  un- 
der his  fresco  of  the  history  of  Joseph,  in  a tomb  which  the  citizens  of  Pisa 
had  given  him  twenty  years  before  as  a reward  for  his  labors.  Above  his  grave 
is  a Latin  epigram,  which  expresses  the  admiration  of  his  contemporaries  for 
the  art  which  had  made  birds  and  beasts  and  fishes,  the  green  woods  and  the 
blue  vault  of  heaven,  youths  and  children,  fathers  and  mothers,  all  live  again 
on  these  walls  as  no  other  master  had  ever  done  before  him.  Such  was  the 
high  meed  of  praise  which  Benozzo  Gozzoli  won  in  his  lifetime,  and  we  who 
judge  his  merits  with  more  critical  eyes  may  yet  own  in  him  a master  whose 
heart  beat  with  quick  response  for  the  fair  and  pleasant  things  of  life,  and  ten- 
der interests  of  hearth  and  home,  and  across  whose  vision  there  sometimes 
dawned  gleams  of  a higher  truth  and  of  a more  perfect  beauty. 


Cfie  &rt  of  Beno^o  tflo^olt 

EUGENE  MUNTZ  ‘HISTOIRE  DE  L ’ ART  PENDANT  LA  RENAISSANCE’ 

IN  studying  the  paintings  or  sculptures  of  the  middle  ages  and  of  the  early 
Renaissance,  we  are  obliged  to  admit  that  there  is  a certain  sameness,  at 
least  as  to  the  subjects.  Virgins  in  Glory,  scenes  from  the  Passion,  Crucifixions, 
Entombments,  or  martyrdoms  are  alone  portrayed.  No  note  is  struck  save  the 
serious,  the  lofty,  and,  oftener  still,  the  lugubrious;  there  is  no  place  accorded 
to  the  expression  of  sentiments  less  religious  but  more  cheerful  and  pleasing, 
and  allowing  a freer  range  for  the  imagination.  In  a word,  we  should  some- 
times prefer  a more  varied,  more  familiar  art,  and,  let  us  frankly  acknowledge, 
an  art  that  is  more  modern. 


[23  7 1 


28 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


The  glory  of  having  restored  to  an  honorable  position  in  art  the  episodic 
element,  too  often  sacrificed  in  the  fifteenth  century  to  the  contemplative  ele- 
ment; the  glory  of  having  been  the  first  to  turn  his  attention  to  an  essentially 
idyllic  and  picturesque  interpretation  of  the  Old  Testament — the  only  por- 
tion of  the  Scriptures  adapted  to  such  a treatment  — this  glory  is  due  to  a 
Florentine  artist  who,  in  my  opinion,  has  never  received  his  just  meed  of  ap- 
preciation— to  Benozzo  Gozzoli,  the  painter  of  the  Campo  Santo  of  Pisa. 

Benozzo  Gozzoli  was  born  in  Florence  in  1420;  when  twenty-four  years  old 
he  was  one  of  Ghiberti’s  collaborators,  learning,  like  most  of  the  Florentine 
artists  of  his  day,  to  model  as  well  as  to  paint.  Later  he  entered  the  studio  of 
Fra  Angelico,  whose  favorite  pupil  he  became.  Such  a combination  is  some- 
what surprising,  for  the  mystic  tendencies,  the  lofty  seriousness,  the  asceticism, 
of  the  Dominican  painter  are  in  marked  contrast  to  the  joyous  nature  of  his 
pupil,  to  his  lively  imagination,  his  exuberant  fancy,  his  love  of  nature.  No 
one,  indeed,  was  less  disposed  than  Benozzo  Gozzoli  to  look  on  the  dark  side 
of  things,  or  to  take  life  tragically. 

Among  others  of  Fra  Angelico’s  works  in  Rome,  his  pupil  helped  him  with 
the  frescos  of  the  Chapel  of  Nicholas  v.  in  the  Vatican,  where  more  than 
one  picturesque  motive  betrays  Benozzo’s  hand.  A painting  of  ‘The  As- 
sumption,’ executed  by  him  in  1450  for  the  Church  of  San  Fortunato,  just 
outside  the  town  of  Montefalco,  and  now  in  the  Lateran  Museum,  Rome, 
shows  the  continued  influence  of  his  master.  Its  coloring  is  somewhat  crude, 
as  in  the  works  of  Fra  Angelico,  who  found  it  hard  to  free  himself  from  the 
methods  of  the  miniaturists,  especially  in  regard  to  their  fondness  for  vivid 
colors.  This  picture  is  dated  1450,  but  a year  before  that  Benozzo  had  al- 
ready left  his  master.  First  he  offered  his  services  to  the  Directors  of  the 
Cathedral  Works  at  Orvieto,  but  after  subjecting  him  to  an  examination  that 
body  declined  his  services.  Perhaps  this  should  be  looked  upon  merely  as  a 
temporary  refusal,  for  we  know  that  just  then  the  cathedral  funds  were  low. 
If,  however,  this  was  not  the  reason  for  their  rejection  of  his  work,  what  an 
absurd  mockery  it  was  that  an  artist  like  Benozzo  Gozzoli  should  have  been 
discarded  by  a jury  on  the  ground  of  incapacity! 

From  1450  to  1452  Benozzo  was  settled  in  the  little  Umbrian  town  of  Monte- 
falco. There  he  devoted  himself  chiefly  to  the  decoration  of  the  Church  of  San 
Francesco.  Upon  his  return  to  his  native  city  all  his  powers  were  concentrated 
upon  the  adornment  of  the  Chapel  of  the  Palace  of  the  Medici  (now  the  Ric- 
cardi  Palace),  where  he  was  still  at  work  in  1458.  . . . 

Picture  to  yourself  a musician  evolving  from  a given  theme  endlessly  bril- 
liant variations  — a symphony  constructed  on  a single  idea,  but  developed 
ad  infinitum,  under  every  conceivable  aspect  and  without  the  least  repetition 
— and  you  will  be  able  to  form  some  idea  of  the  frescos  in  the  Chapel  of  the 
Riccardi  Palace. 

‘The  Adoration  of  the  Magi’ — that  was  the  theme  given  to  Benozzo,  and 
from  that  seemingly  restricted  theme  he  evolved  motives  innumerable,  each 
more  interesting  than  the  last.  Under  his  brush  the  procession  of  the  Magian 
kings  becomes  a long-drawn-out  epic  unfolding  itself  before  our  eyes  on  three 

[238] 


BENOZZO  GOZZOLI 


29 


of  the  walls  of  the  chapel.  All  the  aristocracy  of  Florence  are  depicted  there; 
first  the  artist’s  patrons,  the  Medici,  then  their  kinsmen,  friends,  and  clients, 
and  Benozzo  has  taken  good  care  that  he  himself  should  not  be  forgotten. 
His  portrait  shows  us  a somewhat  surly  face,  almost  with  the  look  of  a bulldog 
— not  at  all  in  keeping  with  the  opinion  one  would  naturally  form  of  this 
charming  painter.  As  to  the  other  portraits  introduced,  they  are  apparently 
imaginary;  that  is  to  say,  the  artist  is  in  no  way  concerned  with  archaeological 
problems.  Fortunately  for  us,  he  does  not  know  how  to  clothe  his  personages 
in  antique  garb;  and  accordingly  we  see  passing  before  us  grave  old  men  clad 
in  brocade  jackets,  or  wearing  the  long  and  imposing  Florentine  robe,  spirited 
horsemen,  well-trained  archers,  and  elegant  young  pages  with  blond  curls 
crowned  with  flowers.  Some  of  these  individuals  advance  sedately,  while 
others  in  the  background  — for  example  the  huntsman  in  pursuit  of  a deer  — 
are  amusing  themselves  on  the  route;  but,  after  all,  the  goal  is  a long  way  oflP, 
and  on  such  a journey  one  may  surely  be  excused  for  indulging  in  a little 
diversion.  . . . 

Quite  as  important  as  the  men  in  this  procession  are  the  four-footed  beasts 
and  the  winged  creatures;  we  are  shown  mules  loaded  with  precious  gifts, 
camels,  hunting-leopards,  greyhounds,  falcons — in  short,  a regular  caravan 
on  its  march.  The  landscape  is  varied,  the  country  hilly,  like  that  in  the  en- 
virons of  Florence;  bare  rocks  alternate  with  wooded  knolls;  villas,  castles,  and 
hamlets  nestle  in  the  tiny  valleys,  and  at  intervals,  stationed  like  beacons,  are 
cedars,  cypresses,  palms,  and  orange-trees  with  glossy  trunks  and  no  branches, 
but  a tuft  of  leaves  crowning  their  summits. 

Do  not,  however,  suppose  that  Benozzo  Gozzoli  cared  only  for  descriptive 
poetry;  he  could  also  strike  more  tender  chords,  and  we  find  groups  of  angels 
of  a grace  and  loveliness  scarcely  equaled  by  the  greatest  masters  completing 
this  radiant  and  poetic  picture,  and  imparting  such  depth  of  feeling  to  the 
whole  as  to  prove  that  Benozzo’s  imagination  was  not  exercised  to  the  detri- 
ment of  the  emotions  of  his  heart  and  soul.  In  this  respect  he  shows  himself 
the  true  disciple  of  Fra  Angelico. 

At  San  Gimignano,  which  next  claimed  the  artist’s  services,  he  was  com- 
missioned to  illustrate  in  a series  of  monumental  frescos  the  life  of  St.  Augus- 
tine. This  subject  was  admirably  adapted  to  his  tastes,  for  Benozzo  was  ut- 
terly unable  to  represent  scenes  of  martyrdom,  or,  indeed,  to  portray  any  pain- 
ful spectacle. 

The  seventeen  compositions  of  this  series  are  not  of  equal  interest.  The 
artist  has  succeeded  no  better  than  his  predecessors  or  his  successors  in  over- 
coming the  really  insurmountable  obstacles  to  a picturesque  treatment  which 
are  presented  by  the  monastic  garb.  The  enforced  portrayal  of  the  religious 
uniform,  inelegant  in  cut  and  hopelessly  monotonous  in  color,  being  either 
black  or  white,  seems  to  have  had  a somewhat  paralyzing  effect  upon  his  im- 
agination, and  only  when  some  lay  costumes,  or,  strictly  speaking,  costumes  of 
secular  priests,  can  be  mingled  with  the  monkish  gowns  is  he  more  at  his  ease. 

Rarely  did  Benozzo  Gozzoli  attempt  to  paint  easel-pictures.  They  cramped 
the  play  of  his  fancy.  There  is  a painting  by  him  in  the  Louvre,  more  curious 

[239] 


30 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


by  reason  of  the  ideas  expressed  than  interesting  because  of  its  technique,  rep- 
resenting the  glorification  of  St.  Thomas  Aquinas.  The  heads  are  very  care- 
fully executed,  but  the  artist  evidently  felt  himself  handicapped  by  the  sub- 
ject prescribed  for  him.  Dogmatic  painting  was  not  the  forte  of  this  sponta- 
neous and  independent  genius. 

In  1468  the  Pisans  intrusted  him  with  the  completion  of  the  frescos  of  their 
great  cemetery — the  Campo  Santo — where  for  a century  and  a half  the  most 
skilful  painters  and  sculptors,  chiefs  of  the  schools  of  Pisa,  of  Florence,  and 
of  Siena,  had  established  their  reputations.  The  wall  assigned  to  Benozzo  is 
opposite  the  entrance.  No  artist  of  the  Renaissance,  it  may  be  truly  said,  had 
ever  received  a like  commission.  Here  was  a perfectly  smooth,  flat  surface, 
without  any  breaks,  with  an  excellent  light,  and  ample  space  for  the  works  to 
be  seen  from  a proper  distance.  Even  Raphael  was  not  so  favored,  for  in  the 
Stanze  and  the  Loggie  of  the  Vatican  he  was  obliged  to  take  into  consideration 
the  cross-lights,  the  construction  of  the  ceilings,  and  the  windows,  cut  as  they 
were  directly  in  the  middle  of  the  walls  he  had  to  decorate;  as,  for  example,  in 
his  frescos  ‘ The  Mass  of  Bolsena  ’ and  ‘ The  Deliverance  of  St.  Peter.’  F urther- 
more,  to  crown  Benozzo’s  good  fortune,  he  was  charged  with  the  task  of  illus- 
trating stories  which  of  all  others  were  best  suited  to  appeal  to  his  imagination 
— stories  from  the  Old  Testament,  which  seem  as  if  they  had  been  created 
expressly  for  a display  of  his  particular  talent.  Epic  and  idyllic  scenes  alter- 
nate. Here  is  no  need  to  compromise  with  the  exigencies  of  religious  faith;  no 
necessity  of  being  tragic;  no  reason  why  he  should  seek  to  make  converts;  it 
was  only  asked  of  him  that  he  should  narrate,  amuse,  and  charm. 

The  imagination,  the  life  and  spirit  displayed  by  the  artist  in  this  great 
cycle,  indisputably  the  most  extensive  executed  by  any  painter  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  defies  all  analysis.  In  the  first  place,  Benozzo  has  not  troubled  him- 
self with  religious  symbolism,  and  so  far  from  conforming  to  any  traditional 
portrayal  of  the  scenes,  has  exercised  the  utmost  freedom  in  drawing  from  the 
immense  storehouse  of  subjects  offered  by  the  Old  Testament.  Warlike  ex- 
ploits, peaceful  scenes,  the  pleasures  of  pastoral  life — each  in  turn  attracts 
him.  The  deep,  mystical,  and  prophetic  meaning  of  the  acts  of  the  patriarchs 
is  of  minor  interest  to  him;  the  human  side,  the  anecdotic,  the  worldly,  touch- 
ing and  homely  episodes,  verdant  landscapes— these  are  what  inspire  him.  In 
the  whole  history  of  fifteenth-century  Italian  painting  there  is  not  a page  that 
is  more  brilliant,  more  varied,  more  interesting.  Not  the  least  trace  of  effort 
is  discernible,  but  from  one  end  to  the  other  of  this  colossal  fresco  evidence  is 
shown  of  a fancy  that  was  indeed  inexhaustible.  . . . 

Benozzo  Gozzoli  is  a magician  through  and  through.  He  is  not  content  with 
depicting  the  most  brilliant  assemblages  and  the  most  expressive  faces;  the 
magnificence  of  the  decoration  must  correspond  to  the  nobility  of  the  actors, 
and  the  richness  of  their  costumes.  No  painter  of  the  Renaissance  so  well  un- 
derstood how  to  fill  the  backgrounds  of  his  compositions  with  sumptuous 
buildings,  or  could  render  so  realistically  the  picture  of  a civilization  steeped  in 
luxury.  The  cities  called  into  being  by  his  magic  wand  on  the  wall  of  the 
Campo  Santo  of  Pisa  or  in  the  Church  of  Sant’  Agostino  at  San  Gimignano 

[240] 


BENOZZO  GOZZOLI 


31 


are  a combination  of  the  splendors  of  Constantinople,  of  Rome,  of  Jerusalem, 
and  of  Babylon.  What  endless  variety  in  those  minarets,  those  obelisks,  those 
triumphal  columns,  those  palace-like  fortresses,  those  churches  built  like  tem- 
ples, where  battlements  and  machicolations  are  raised  aloft  on  colonnades  and 
cupolas! 

Benozzo  Gozzoli  left  almost  no  direct  pupils.  After  all,  what  could  he  have 
taught  them  ? No  rule,  no  theory,  guided  the  creation  of  his  brilliant  historic 
visions.  “Be  a poet  like  me” — that  is  all  he  could  have  told  them,  and  that 
would  hardly  have  sufficed  for  the  formation  of  a school!  And  yet  his  sojourn 
in  Umbria  did  nevertheless  exercise  considerable  influence  over  Niccolo  da 
Foligno,  Melanzio,  Bonfigli,  and  Fiorenzo  di  Lorenzo.  But  if  in  this  respect 
he  is  not  so  important  as  men  like  Masaccio,  Filippo  Lippi,  and  Ghirlandajo, 
how  much  more  varied  and  more  charming  is  his  work!  Surely  posterity  can- 
not withhold  its  admiration  and  its  gratitude  from  this  magician  who  has  be- 
queathed it  such  vivid  pictures  of  the  society  of  his  own  day,  and  has  created 
so  many  charming  figures  formed  for  the  perpetual  enjoyment  of  all  lovers  of 
the  beautiful.  — abridged  from  the  french 

BENOZZO  GOZZOLI  is  happy  in  a many-colored  world  of  inexhaustible 
delight,  in  which  his  fancy  draws  its  inspiration,  and  his  indefatigable  in- 
dustry its  object;  he  can  seldom  touch  the  level  of  the  great  ones  in  Italian 
painting,  but  yet  in  his  own  limits  he  is  often  entirely  delicious.  — selwyn 
brinton 

GEORGESLAFENESTRE  <LA  PEINTURE  ITALIENNE’ 

FRA  ANGELICO,  the  pious  monk  of  San  Marco,  had  but  one  pupil,  but 
that  pupil,  Benozzo  di  Lese  di  Sandro,  surnamed  Benozzo  Gozzoli,  was 
an  honor  to  his  master.  It  would  be  impossible  to  conceive  of  a simpler  life 
than  that  of  this  worthy  artist,  who,  little  by  little,  without  any  ambitious  effort, 
mastered  all  that  the  science  of  his  day  could  teach  him;  nor  could  any  career 
have  been  more  industrious  than  that  of  this  naive  poet,  who,  while  remaining 
true  to  the  pure  and  lofty  ideals  of  Fra  Angelico,  yet  loved  the  world  of  reality 
with  feeling  more  intense  than  did  any  of  his  fellow-artists. 

Poor,  working  for  small  remuneration,  usually  in  haste  and  often  with  the 
help  of  inferior  assistants,  Benozzo  Gozzoli  does  not  always  manifest  in  his 
early  achievements  that  carefulness  and  correctness,  that  search  for  the  best, 
which  in  Florence  was  held  to  be  of  paramount  importance.  Indeed,  even  in 
his  mature  works  he  is  careless  in  an  intermittent  sort  of  way,  and  up  to  the 
very  last  his  style  is  marked  by  inequality.  Sometimes,  in  studying  certain  of 
his  figures,  their  incorrect  proportions,  awkward  attitudes,  uninteresting  faces, 
and  the  unfortunate  way  in  which  they  are  grouped  would  lead  one  to  suppose 
that  Benozzo  was  but  a mediocre  artist.  But  others  again  are  so  marvelously 
graceful,  and  such  a charmingly  lifelike  quality  characterizes  his  compositions 
that  such  an  opinion  is  quickly  dissipated. 

None  of  Benozzo’s  compatriots  displayed  in  mural  painting  such  numerous 
and  such  varied  aspects  of  nature  and  life,  nor  showed  so  naive  a fancy  in 

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MASTERS  IN  ART 


transporting  the  world  of  reality  into  a world  of  the  imagination,  almost  with- 
out any  change  in  the  fair  and  delicate  faces  of  youths,  of  young  women,  and 
of  those  little  children  whom  he  loved  to  study. 

The  never-varying,  frank  simplicity  of  his  nature  led  Benozzo  to  make  the 
most  daring  attempts;  it  seems  as  if  he  disregarded  difficulties  for  the  pure 
pleasure  of  dealing  with  them.  Mystic  visions,  biblical  idyls,  familiar  stories, 
symbolic  scenes,  successively  make  their  appearance  upon  a motion  of  his 
hand,  amid  surroundings  of  architecture  the  most  complicated  that  could  be 
conceived  of  by  a mathematician,  and  panoramas  more  extended  than  any 
traveler  could  compass. 

By  his  contemporaries  Benozzo  Gozzoli  was  acknowledged  to  be  the  fore- 
most landscapist  of  his  day,  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  brilliant  decorative 
painters  of  his  school.  In  his  sympathetic  feeling  for  the  world  about  him  he 
invested  everything  in  nature  with  a new  interest  and  charm,  and  no  matter 
how  careless  he  may  be,  he  will  always  remain  one  of  the  greatest  artists  of 
his  century,  for  the  simple  reason  that  he  was  one  of  the  most  living.  — from 
THE  FRENCH 

BENOZZO  GOZZOLI  was  gifted  with  a rare  facility  not  only  of  execution 
but  of  invention,  with  a spontaneity,  a freshness,  a liveliness  in  telling  a 
story,  that  wake  the  child  in  us,  and  the  lover  of  the  fairy-tale.  Later  in  life 
his  more  precious  gifts  deserted  him,  but  who  wants  to  resist  the  fascination  of 
his  early  works,  painted,  as  they  seem,  by  a Fra  Angelico  who  had  forgotten 
heaven  and  become  enamoured  of  the  earth  and  the  springtime  ? — bernhard 
BERENSON 

JOHN  ADDINGTON  SYMONDS  ‘RENAISSANCE  IN  ITALY’ 

BENOZZO  GOZZOLI,  the  pupil  of  Fra  Angelico,  but  in  no  sense  the  con- 
tinuator  of  his  tradition,  exhibits  the  blending  of  several  styles  by  a genius 
of  less  creative  than  assimilative  force.  That  he  was  keenly  interested  in  the 
problems  of  perspective  and  foreshortening,  and  that  none  of  the  knowledge 
collected  by  his  fellow-workers  had  escaped  him,  is  sufficiently  proved  by  his 
frescos  at  Pisa.  His  compositions  are  rich  in  architectural  details,  not  always 
chosen  with  pure  taste,  but  painted  with  an  almost  infantine  delight  in  the 
magnificence  of  buildings.  Quaint  birds  and  beasts  and  reptiles  crowd  his 
landscapes;  while  his  imagination  runs  riot  in  rocks  and  rivers,  trees  of  all 
variety,  and  rustic  incidents  adopted  from  real  life.  At  the  same  time  he  felt 
an  enjoyment  like  that  of  Gentile  da  Fabriano  in  depicting  the  pomp  and  cir- 
cumstance of  pageantry,  and  no  Florentine  of  the  fifteenth  century  was  more 
fond  of  assembling  the  personages  of  contemporary  history  in  groups. 

Thus  he  showed  himself  sensitive  to  the  chief  influences  of  the  earlier  Re- 
naissance, and  combined  the  scientific  and  naturalistic  tendencies  of  his  age 
in  a manner  not  devoid  of  native  poetry.  What  he  lacked  was  depth  of  feeling, 
the  sense  of  noble  form,  the  originative  force  of  a great  mind.  His  poetry  of 
invention,  though  copious  and  varied,  owed  its  charm  to  the  unstudied  grace 

[ 2 4 2 J 


BENOZZO  GOZZOLI 


33 


of  improvisation,  and  he  often  undertook  subjects  where  his  idyllic  rather  than 
dramatic  genius  failed  to  sustain  him.  . . . 

This  painter’s  marvelous  rapidity  of  execution  enabled  him  to  produce  an 
almost  countless  series  of  decorative  works.  The  best  of  these  are  the  frescos 
of  the  Pisan  Campo  Santo,  of  the  Chapel  of  the  Riccardi  Palace  at  Florence, 
of  San  Gimignano,  and  of  Montefalco.  It  has  been  well  said  of  Benozzo  Goz- 
zoli  that,  though  he  attempted  grand  subjects  on  a large  scale,  he  could  not 
rise  above  the  limitations  of  a style  better  adapted  to  the  decoration  of  mar- 
riage-chests than  to  fresco.  Yet  within  the  range  of  his  own  powers  there  are 
few  more  fascinating  painters.  His  feeling  for  fresh  nature — for  hunters  in 
the  woods  at  night  or  dawn,  for  vintage-gatherers  among  their  grapes,  for  fes- 
tival troops  of  cavaliers  and  pages,  and  for  the  marriage-dances  of  young  men 
and  maidens — yields  a delightful  gladness  to  compositions  lacking  the  sim- 
plicity of  Giotto  and  the  dignity  of  Masaccio.  No  one  knew  better  how  to 
sketch  the  quarrels  of  little  boys  in  their  nursery,  or  the  laughter  of  serving- 
women,  or  children  carrying  their  books  to  school;  and  when  the  idyllic  genius 
of  the  man  was  applied  to  graver  themes  his  fancy  supplied  him  with  multi- 
tudes of  angels  waving  rainbow-colored  wings  above  fair  mortal  faces. 

From  these  observations  on  the  style  of  Benozzo  Gozzoli  it  will  be  seen  that 
in  the  evolution  of  Renaissance  culture  he  may  be  compared  with  the  romantic 
poets,  for  whom  the  cheerfulness  of  nature  and  the  joy  that  comes  to  men 
from  living  in  a many-colored  world  of  inexhaustible  delight  were  sufficient 
sources  of  inspiration. 

BENOZZO  GOZZOLTS  claim  to  rank  with  the  great  artists  of  his  country 
may  be  disputed,  but  amongst  the  painters  of  the  early  Renaissance  he 
must  stand  as  one  of  the  most  talented  and  certainly  the  most  fascinating. — 
HUGH  STOKES 

E.H.AND  E.W.BLASHFIELD  AND  A.  A.  HOPKINS,  EDITORS  ‘VASARI’  S LIVES’ 

BENOZZO  GOZZOLI  is  an  uneven  painter,  but  a great  one.  Always 
spontaneous,  often  gay,  and  sometimes  grave,  he  seems  to  fear  no  task, 
however  great,  and  without  preoccupation  as  to  the  difficulty,  he  attacks  an 
enormous  wall  surface,  as  in  his  frescos  of  the  Pisan  Campo  Santo,  and  appears 
not  so  much  to  think  out  his  composition  in  advance  as  to  go  straight  on  telling 
a story  easily  and  quickly,  adding  group  after  group  as  he  feels  the  need  of 
more  figures,  and  pressing  animals  and  plants,  architecture  and  landscape, 
into  his  service  as  readily  as  men  and  women.  Messrs.  Woltmann  and  Woer- 
mann  say  that  “this  constantly  romantic  mood  leaves,  it  must  be  owned,  a 
rather  desultory  impression,”  which  is  true;  but  what  is  more  important,  the 
pictorial  and  decorative  impression  is  not  desultory,  but  strong  and  abiding. 

In  his  procession  of  the  Magian  kings  in  the  Chapel  of  the  Riccardi  Palace, 
Benozzo  is  a miniature-painter  on  a vast  scale,  and  seems  almost  like  a child 
at  play,  setting  out  his  little  trees  and  hills  and  tiny  background  figures  hunting 
or  pasturing  their  herds;  but  to  this  naivete  he  adds  a grace  and  charm  so 
great  that  here  one  feels  perhaps  more  than  anywhere  else  that  delightful  dec- 

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MASTERS  IN  ART 


orative  quality  of  fifteenth-century  art  which,  as  M.  Muntz  has  said,  was  sacri- 
ficed forever  when  the  Orders  with  their  inexorable  rules  came  in,  only  a few 
years  later.  Here  in  the  Chapel  of  the  Riccardi  Palace  Benozzo  added  the 
strength  and  science  of  the  early  Renaissance  to  the  sincerity  and  daintiness 
of  the  Gothic  illuminator.  He  is  a story-teller  par  excellence , a Florentine 
Carpaccio  in  his  episodical  treatment  of  his  subjects,  and  a Florentine  Holbein 
in  his  drawing  of  the  heads  of  doctors  and  lawyers  in  his  St.  Augustine  series, 
where  the  modeling,  awkward  even  to  carelessness  in  some  of  his  work,  be- 
comes almost  as  close  as  that  of  the  great  German  master.  He  is  classical  only 
in  his  architecture,  loving  to  paint  rather  the  gayest  costumes  of  his  own  fif- 
teenth century,  and  setting,  says  M.  Lafenestre,  “the  life  of  the  schools  side 
by  side  with  the  life  of  courts  and  palaces.” 

Benozzo  Gozzoli  is  not  only  an  animated  story-teller,  he  is  a poet  at  times; 
the  idyl  is  his  as  well  as  the  episode,  and  his  style  suggests  the  romance  rather 
than  the  novella . He  is  a lover  of  nature,  a student  of  fields  and  flowers  and 
birds  and  animals;  he  loved  to  enamel  a meadow  with  blossoms  as  well  as  to 
elaborate'the  pattern  of  a brocade  jerkin,  and  to  show  us  the  arbor  bending 
under  heavy  clusters  of  grapes  as  well  as  to  present  us  to  some  contemporary 
legist  or  Magnifico.  On  the  vast  wall-spaces  that  he  covered  so  rapidly  and 
easily  with  a world  of  story  he  revealed  himself  in  turn  as  landscape-painter, 
portrait-painter,  animal-painter,  costumer,  architect,  a designer  of  ornament, 
and  superlatively  a decorator.  The  pure,  serene  spirit  of  Fra  Angelico’s  art 
in  Benozzo  Gozzoli  had  become  more  human,  more  homely,  more  familiar; 
the  pleasant  places  of  earth  were  the  heaven  he  painted;  but  if  the  work  of  the 
master  is  more  divine,  that  of  the  pupil  is  more  living. 


%\ n Woxkz  of  Beno^o  #o^olt 

‘THE  PROCESSION  OF  THE  MAGI’  PLATES  I AND  II 

IN  the  Via  Cavour,  formerly  the  Via  Larga,  Florence,  stands  the  old  palace 
of  the  Medici,  generally  called,  from  the  name  of  its  more  recent  owners, 
the  Riccardi  Palace,  and  now  the  property  of  the  government.  The  building 
was  erected  by  order  of  Cosimo  de’  Medici  in  1430,  and  the  private  chapel  was 
decorated  between  1456  and  1460  by  Benozzo  Gozzoli,  who  painted  on  its 
walls  his  famous  fresco,  ‘The  Adoration  of  the  Magi.’  On  both  sides  of  the 
chapel  as  well  as  on  the  end  wall  is  seen  ‘The  Procession  of  the  Magi’;  on 
either  side  of  an  alcove  in  which  the  altar  stands  is  a fresco  representing  the 
shepherds  watching  their  flocks,  while  on  the  side  walls  of  the  alcove  are  the 
two  scenes  known  as‘  Paradise.’  The  entire  chapel  measures  onlyabout  twenty- 
five  feet  long  by  twenty  feet  wide.  Originally  it  had  no  window,  but  was  lighted 
by  silver  lamps,  so  that  Benozzo  Gozzoli  must  have  painted  his  fresco  by  arti- 
ficial light.  At  a later  period  a portion  of  the  painting  was  destroyed  in  order 
to  make  an  opening  for  a stairway,  a window  was  inserted  back  of  the  altar, 

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BENOZZO  GOZZOLI 


35 


and  the  altar-piece  of  ‘The  Nativity/  the  culminating  point  of  all,  was  re- 
moved. This  picture,  painted  by  Filippo  Lippi,  is  variously  believed  to  be 
in  Berlin,  in  Munich,  and  in  the  Florentine  Academy,  while  by  some  critics 
it  is  thought  to  be  irrevocably  lost. 

Although  the  subject,  ‘The  Adoration  of  the  Magi/  assigned  to  Benozzo 
Gozzoli  for  his  decoration  of  the  chapel,  is  one  pertaining  to  sacred  art,  the 
religious  spirit  is  lost  sight  of  in  the  brilliant  procession  winding  down  from 
the  mountains  and  through  a luxuriant  and  fairy-like  landscape  (see  plates  I 
and  n).  Here  are  the  principal  personages  of  the  day  in  Florence,  dressed  in 
contemporary  costumes  of  brocaded  silks  and  rich  velvets,  gorgeous  with  gold 
and  jewels.  Knights  and  pages  follow  in  the  suite  of  the  Magian  kings,  with 
gaily  decked  horses,  camels,  hunting-leopards,  dogs,  falcons,  and  all  the  acces- 
sories of  an  immense  and  imposing  cavalcade,  for  on  this  journey  is  concen- 
trated “all  that  the  Renaissance  knew  of  splendor,  delightfulness,  and  ro- 
mance.” 

One  of  the  most  striking  figures  in  the  procession  is  that  of  the  youthful 
Lorenzo  de’  Medici  (see  plate  i),  known  in  after  years  as  Lorenzo  the  Mag- 
nificent. Mounted  on  a richly  caparisoned  white  horse,  he  is  here  painted 
as  one  of  the  three  kings  journeying  towards  the  manger  of  Bethlehem.  He 
wears  a yellow  and  gold  tunic  with  red  sleeves,  red  silk  tights,  and,  on  his 
flowing  curls,  a jeweled  cap  surmounted  by  a crown.  Knights  on  horseback 
and  on  foot  form  his  escort,  and  following  him  is  a crowd  of  horsemen,  among 
whom  it  has  been  conjectured  are  his  grandfather,  the  aged  Cosimo  de’  Med- 
ici, on  a white  horse,  accompanied  by  Piero  and  Giovanni  de’  Medici,  the 
father  and  uncle  of  Lorenzo.  Other  well-known  personages,  members  of  the 
Medici  family,  nobles,  scholars,  and  humanists  — even  the  painter,  Benozzo 
Gozzoli  himself  (see  page  22)  — are  represented  in  the  brilliant  cortege  wind- 
ing slowly  among  the  rocky  passes  of  the  hills. 

It  is  said  that  the  special  event  which  the  artist’s  patrons,  the  Medici,  wished 
to  have  commemorated  in  this  painting  was  a meeting  of  the  General  Council 
held  in  Florence  in  1439  f°r  t^e  purpose  of  uniting  the  Greek  and  Latin 
Churches,  and  accordingly  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople  figures  as  one  of 
the  three  kings,  while  on  the  end  wall,  John  Palaeologus,  Emperor  of  the  East, 
who  was  present  on  the  occasion,  is  represented  as  another  of  the  Magi  (see 
plate  11).  This  potentate,  clad  in  a gorgeous  flowered  robe  of  green  and  gold, 
is  seated  upon  a white  horse  decked  with  jeweled  trappings.  His  dark  face  is 
offset  by  a turban  upon  which  rests  a coronet.  With  one  hand  holding  his 
horse’s  reins  and  the  other  resting  upon  his  hip,  he  advances  towards  the  goal, 
escorted  by  youthful  pages  richly  attired  and  bearing  long  lances. 

“It  would  be  hard  to  find,  even  in  the  fifteenth  century,”  write  Vasari’s 
recent  editors,  “a  more  perfectly  satisfactory  decoration,  at  once  brilliant  and 
sincere,  than  is  this  of  the  chapel  which  the  lords  of  Florence  built  for  their 
private  devotions  in  their  palace  of  the  Via  Larga.  The  charming  pageant, 
with  its  abundance  of  gilding  and  its  embossed  patterns,  its  dogs  and  horses, 
hunters  and  shepherds,  winds  about  the  walls  and  leads  up  to  a perfectly  deco- 
rative motive,  where  peacock-winged  angels  cluster  about  the  altar  upon  which 

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MASTERS  IN  ART 


‘The  Nativity’  once  stood.  It  is  the  very  perfection  of  a decoration,  gay  yet 
serious,  rich  yet  dignified  in  color,  animated  yet  stately.” 


‘PARADISE’  PLATE  III 

ON  the  two  opposite  sides  of  the  walls  of  the  alcove  in  the  Chapel  of  the 
Riccardi  Palace  in  which  the  altar  stands,  and  where  formerly  the  paint- 
ing of  ‘The  Nativity’  was  placed,  Benozzo  Gozzoli  painted  groups  of  angels 
worshiping  the  Babe  of  Bethlehem.  Of  these  two  frescos,  similar  in  design  and 
color  and  both  known  as  ‘ Paradise,’  the  one  on  the  right  is  here  reproduced. 
In  a fair  and  radiant  landscape  in  which  palms,  stone-pines,  and  tall,  pointed 
cypress-trees  stand  out  against  a blue  sky,  and  the  ground  is  bright  with  flow- 
ers of  varied  tints,  angels  kneel  in  silent  adoration  or  stand  absorbed  in  praise. 
Others  are  seen  coming  down  from  heaven  or  gliding  about  among  the  flowers 
of  the  heavenly  garden.  The  wings  of  these  seraphic  beings  are  peacock-hued, 
and  around  their  heads  are  golden  halos. 

The  scene  is  pervaded  with  an  exquisitely  tender  sentiment,  a deeply  relig- 
ious feeling  suggestive  of  Fra  Angelico’s  gentle  influence,  in  contrast  to  the 
mundane  pomp  and  regal  splendor  of  ‘The  Procession  of  the  Magi’  sur- 
rounding on  all  sides  this  radiant  vision  of  an  unseen  world. 

<ST.  FRANCIS  EXPELLING  DEVILS  FROM  AREZZO’  PLATE  IV 


IN  the  year  1450  Benozzo  Gozzoli  was  called  to  Montefalco,  where  he  was 
soon  engaged  in  decorating  the  choir  of  the  Church  of  San  Francesco  with 
a series  of  twelve  frescos  arranged  in  three  tiers,  depicting  scenes  from  the  life 
of  St.  Francis.  Inscriptions  on  scrolls  held  by  angels  painted  on  the  pilasters 
at  the  entrance  to  the  choir  tell  us  that  the  artist’s  patron  was  the  Franciscan, 
Jacopo  di  Montefalco,  and  that  the  decorations  were  completed  in  1452. 

These  early  works  of  Benozzo  Gozzoli’s  give  evidence  not  only  of  the  influ- 
ence of  his  master,  Fra  Angelico,  but  show  that  Giotto’s  frescos  in  the  neigh- 
boring town  of  Assisi  had  been  carefully  studied.  Nowhere  is  this  more  appar- 
ent than  in  the  picture  here  reproduced.  The  subject  is  one  painted  by  Giotto, 
in  the  Upper  Church  of  St.  Francis  at  Assisi,  although  somewhat  differently 
treated.  In  Giotto’s  fresco,  for  instance,  a church  occupies  the  left-hand  por- 
tion of  the  scene,  whereas  in  Benozzo’s  the  scene  represents  a garden  before 
the  walls  of  Arezzo.  In  both  versions  St.  Francis  kneels  in  prayer  while  his 
companion,  Fra  Silvestro,  stands  in  a commanding  attitude  exorcising  the 
devils  which  are  seen  flying  away  from  the  city. 

The  story  so  naively  portrayed  by  both  artists  is  related  by  Mrs.  Jameson 
as  follows:  “The  city  of  Arezzo,  in  Tuscany,  was  at  one  time  distracted  by  fac- 
tions, and  St.  Francis,  on  approaching  it,  beheld  a company  of  demons  dancing 
in  the  air  above  the  walls,  these  being  the  evil  spirits  which  stirred  up  men’s 
minds  to  strife.  Thereupon  he  sent  his  companion,  Silvestro,  to  command 
them  in  his  name  to  depart.  Silvestro  obeyed,  crying  with  a loud  voice,  ‘In 
the  name  of  the  omnipotent  God,  and  by  command  of  his  servant  Francis,  go 
out  hence,  every  one  of  you!’  And  immediately  the  devils  dispersed,  and  the 
city  returned  to  peace  and  propriety.” 

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BENOZZO  GOZZOLI 


37 


‘CELEBRATION  OF  THE  NATIVITY  AT  GRECCIO’  PLATE  V 

THIS  fresco,  one  of  the  series  painted  by  Benozzo  Gozzoli  in  the  Church 
of  San  Francesco,  Montefalco,  depicting  scenes  from  the  life  of  St.  Fran- 
cis (see  description  of  plate  iv),  illustrates  the  story  of  the  celebration  of  the 
birth  of  Christ  at  the  little  monastery  of  Greccio,  a favorite  resort  of  St.  Francis 
towards  the  end  of  his  life.  It  is  recorded  that  at  Christmas-tide  of  the  year 
1223,  St.  Francis,  then  sojourning  at  Greccio,  conceived  the  idea  of  having 
within  the  church  a representation  of  the  Nativity  of  Christ.  A cradle  was  ac- 
cordingly made  ready  for  the  tiny  image  of  the  Christ-child  placed  on  straw 
within  it,  and  even  an  ox  and  an  ass  were  brought  in  to  lend  reality  to  the  scene. 
All  the  people  living  near  Greccio,  as  well  as  the  inmates  of  the  neighboring 
religious  houses,  were  then  bidden  to  attend  the  celebration,  and  on  Christmas 
eve,  torches  in  their  hands  and  joyfully  singing  praises  to  the  Lord,  they  came 
from  far  and  near  to  the  little  church,  where  an  unlooked-for  miracle  was  per- 
formed before  their  wondering  eyes;  for  lo,  when  St.  Francis  lifted  in  his  arms 
the  image  of  the  Holy  Babe,  it  became  a living  child,  radiantly  beautiful  with 
the  divine  light  that  shone  upon  its  head.  Such  is  the  legend  connected  with 
the  celebration  of  the  Nativity  at  Greccio,  the  earliest  instance,  it  is  said,  of 
those  representations  of  the  birth  of  Christ  still  common  in  Italy  at  Christ- 
mas time. 

This  fresco  is  one  of  the  best  of  the  series  of  which  it  forms  a part.  The 
architecture  shows  a somewhat  incongruous  application  of  Renaissance  detail 
to  a Gothic  interior,  but  the  picture  is  well  composed,  the  kneeling  figure  of 
St.  Francis  is  full  of  feeling,  and  in  the  onlookers,  notably  in  the  group  of 
women  at  the  left,  and  the  little  child,  who,  clinging  frightened  to  its  mother’s 
arm,  still  turns  to  watch  the  miracle  enacted  before  them  all,  we  have  examples 
of  that  lifelike  and  naturalistic  element  which  constitutes  one  of  Benozzo 
Gozzoli’s  chief  charms. 

‘ENTRANCE  OF  ST.  AUGUSTINE  INTO  THE  GRAMMAR-SCHOOL’  PLATE  VI 

ON  the  walls  of  the  choir  of  the  Church  of  Sant’  Agostino,  in  the  little 
town  of  San  Gimignano,  Benozzo  Gozzoli  painted,  in  seventeen  com- 
partments, episodes  from  the  life  of  St.  Augustine.  These  frescos,  executed 
between  1464  and  1467,  are  among  the  most  important  of  the  artist’s  works, 
and  indeed  of  all  mural  painting  of  the  fifteenth  century.  “All  the  admirable 
qualities  of  Benozzo  Gozzoli’s  art,”  writes  Gustave  Gruyer,  “as  well  as  cer- 
tain carelessnesses  of  which  he  is  at  times  guilty,  are  here  set  forth;  but  any 
defects  are  lost  sight  of  in  the  charming  impression  of  the  whole.  Curious  de- 
tails abound.  Little  Italian  cities  with  their  crowded  buildings  are  introduced 
with  a highly  picturesque  effect  into  the  backgrounds  of  many  of  the  scenes. 
That  the  artist  had  made  a close  study  of  the  life  about  him  is  shown  by  the 
number  of  figures  evidently  painted  from  his  contemporaries.  Benozzo  loved 
his  own  time,  and  has  skilfully  depicted  many  of  its  characteristic  types.” 
The  fresco  reproduced  in  plate  vi,  the  first  of  the  series,  represents,  on  the 
left,  St.  Augustine  taken  when  a child  to  the  grammar-school  of  Tagaste,  his 

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38 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


native  city,  in  Numidia,  Africa.  His  father  and  mother  intrust  him  to  the  care 
of  the  schoolmaster,  who  receives  him  kindly,  while  two  of  the  older  scholars 
observe  the  group  with  curiosity.  On  the  right  we  are  shown  the  interior  of  the 
school;  a number  of  boys  seated  in  an  open  loggia  are  engaged  with  their  tasks, 
and  in  the  foreground  one  unlucky  culprit,  held  firmly  on  the  shoulders  of  a 
bigger  boy,  is  about  to  be  chastised  by  the  master,  who,  with  uplifted  rod  in 
one  hand,  points  with  the  other  to  the  little  Augustine — the  model  pupil — 
at  his  side. 

The  architectural  setting  of  this  scene  is  a mixture  of  the  classic  and  the 
purely  fantastic;  the  coloring  of  the  fresco  is  light,  the  outdoor  effect  well 
rendered.  “The  whole  picture,’’  writes  Mr.  Stokes,  “vibrates  with  life  and 
activity,  containing  all  the  movement  of  the  opening  scene  of  a play.  Benozzo 
Gozzoli  was  untroubled  by  the  miraculous  power  of  saints,  and  these  compo- 
sitions of  his  are  painted  throughout  in  a purely  secular  spirit.  His  work  is, 
however,  glowing  with  humanity.” 

‘ST.  AUGUSTINE  VISITS  THE  MONKS  OF  MONTE  PISANO’  PLATE  VII 

IN  this  fresco,  one  of  the  series  of  scenes  from  the  life  of  St.  Augustine  in  the 
choir  of  the  Church  of  Sant’  Agostino,  San  Gimignano  (see  description  of 
plate  vi),  three  episodes  are  depicted.  In  the  upper  part  of  the  picture,  on  a 
hill  crowned  by  a monastery,  St.  Augustine  is  represented  visiting  the  monks 
of  Monte  Pisano,  who  stand  before  him  listening  reverently  to  his  words.  In 
the  foreground,  on  the  right,  he  is  seen  seated  among  a group  of  kneeling 
monks,  expounding  to  them  the  word  of  God  and  the  rules  of  their  Order, 
while  on  the  left  is  illustrated  a vision  which  he  himself  related  as  appearing 
to  him  while  walking  one  day  on  the  seashore,  meditating  on  the  mystery  of 
the  Trinity.  While  thus  engaged  he  saw  a little  child  endeavoring  to  fill  a 
hole  in  the  sand  with  water  baled  from  the  ocean,  and  upon  being  questioned 
by  the  saint  as  to  what  he  was  trying  to  do,  the  child  answered,  “I  wish  to 
empty  the  sea  into  this  hole.”  “ But  that,”  said  St.  Augustine,  “would  be  im- 
possible.” “Not  more  impossible,”  returned  the  child,  “than  for  thee,  O 
Augustine,  to  explain  the  mystery  on  which  thou  hast  been  meditating.” 
Thereupon  the  child  vanished,  and  the  saint  knew  that  it  was  Christ  the  Lord 
with  whom  he  had  held  converse. 

‘FUNERAL  OF  ST.  AUGUSTINE’  PLATE  VIII 

THE  fresco  here  reproduced,  unfortunately  in  a much  damaged  condition, 
is  the  last  of  the  series  painted  by  Benozzo  Gozzoli  in  the  choir  of  the 
Church  of  Sant’  Agostino  in  San  Gimignano  (see  description  of  plate  vi). 
“In  this  last  scene — the  grandest  of  the  whole  series” — writes  Julia  Cart- 
wright, “ Benozzo  follows  the  type  originally  invented  by  Giotto  in  the  death 
of  St.  Francis,  in  the  Church  of  Santa  Croce,  Florence  (see  Masters  in  Art, 
Vol.  3,  Part  32),  and  works  it  out  into  an  elaborate  composition  crowded  with 
figures  and  splendid  accessories.  The  saint  lies  on  a richly  draped  mortuary 
couch,  surrounded  by  a large  company  of  monks  and  novices;  a bishop  reads 
the  last  offices,  boy  acolytes  and  friars  hold  cross  and  candles  aloft  at  the  foot 

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BENOZZO  GOZZOLI 


39 


of  the  bier,  and  the  monks  show  their  grief  in  the  most  varied  ways.  Some 
fling  their  arms  back  with  gestures  of  despair;  others  bow  their  heads  over  the 
dead  saint  as  if  inconsolable  for  his  loss;  some,  again,  clasp  their  hands  in 
prayer,  and  resign  themselves  with  a touching  patience  in  their  faces,  that  is 
more  affecting  than  the  passionate  lamentation  of  their  companions.  In  all 
this  Benozzo’s  skill  is  admirably  displayed.  The  grouping  and  disposition  of 
the  figures,  the  graceful  arrangement  of  the  lines  of  conventual  buildings  in 
the  background,  and  the  marvelous  variety  of  expressions  on  the  faces  of  the 
mourners  all  show  the  greatness  of  the  artist’s  powers  and  the  height  to  which 
he  could  occasionally  rise.” 

‘THE  RAPE  OF  HELEN’  PLATE  IX 

ON  this  octagonal  panel  in  the  National  Gallery,  London,  probably  once 
a portion  of  a Florentine  wedding-chest,  Benozzo  Gozzoli  has  painted 
the  story  of  Helen,  the  beautiful  wife  of  Menelaus,  King  of  Lacedaemon,  being 
carried  off  with  the  ladies  of  her  court  by  her  lover,  the  Trojan  Paris,  and  his 
companions.  The  artist  has  treated  the  old  classical  legend  according  to  his 
fancy.  The  costumes  are  those  of  his  own  day  and  country,  while  the  temple 
with  its  gilt  statue  of  a Greek  deity,  the  impossible  landscape,  strange  ships, 
tall  cypress-tree,  and  distant  rocky  hills,  make  up  a fantastic  scene  evolved 
from  his  fertile  imagination. 

“For  his  ideal  of  female  beauty,”  writes  Cosmo  Monkhouse,  “he  seems  to 
have  been  satisfied  with  his  own  taste.  One  can  scarcely  imagine  a face  or  a 
figure  much  less  classical  than  that  of  the  blonde  with  the  retrousse  nose  (pre- 
sumably Helen  herself),  who  is  riding  so  complacently  on  the  neck  of  the  long- 
legged  Italian  in  the  center.  The  figures  in  the  temple  are  of  a finer  type,  and 
the  lady  in  the  sweeping  robe  with  the  long  sleeves,  who  turns  her  back  to  us, 
has  a simple  dignity  which  reminds  one  less  of  Benozzo  Gozzoli’s  master  than 
of  Filippo  Lippi  or  Masaccio.  . . . There  is  nothing  so  classical  or  so  nat- 
ural in  the  picture  as  the  beautiful  little  bare-legged  boy  running  away  in  the 
foreground.  This  little  bright  panel  — so  gay,  so  naive,  so  ignorant,  and  withal 
so  charming — is  of  importance  in  the  history  of  art  as  illustrated  in  the  Na- 
tional Gallery.  It  is  the  first  in  which  the  artist  has  given  full  play  to  his  imag- 
ination, and  entered  the  romantic  world  of  classic  legend.  . . . The  important 
share  that  the  landscape  has  in  the  composition,  and  its  serious  attempt  at 
perspective,  are  also  worthy  of  note.  As  an  example  of  the  master  himself,  of 
the  painter  of  the  great  panoramic  procession  of  the  notables  of  his  day,  which, 
under  the  title  of  the  ‘Adoration  of  the  Magi,’  covers  the  walls  of  the  Chapel 
of  the  Riccardi  Palace  at  Florence,  of  the  designs  of  the  history  of  St.  Augus- 
tine at  San  Gimignano,  and  of  the  frescos  in  the  Campo  Santo  at  Pisa,  it  is,  of 
course,  extremely  inadequate,  but  it  indicates  many  paths  which  the  young 
artist  was  to  strike  out  from  the  old  track  which  sufficed  for  his  saint-like 
master.” 

The  picture  is  painted  in  tempera  and  measures  about  a foot  and  a half  high 
by  two  feet  wide. 


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40 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


(THE  VINTAGE’  [DETAIL  FROM  ‘THE  DRUNKENNESS  OF  NOAH’]  PLATE  X 

FROM  1468  to  1484  Benozzo  Gozzoli  was  engaged  in  executing  with  the 
help  of  assistants  his  largest  and  most  important  work  — the  decoration 
in  fresco  of  one  of  the  long  walls  of  the  Campo  Santo,  Pisa,  with  scenes  from 
the  Old  Testament,  to  which  were  added  an  ‘Annunciation’  and  ‘Adoration 
of  the  Magi.’  These  great  frescos  show  all  Benozzo’s  merits  and  defects;  the 
rich  exuberance  of  his  fancy  is  here  displayed,  together  with  frequent  examples 
of  careless  draftsmanship  and  inability  to  adequately  express  the  ideas  with 
which  his  brain  teemed.  “And  yet,”  as  one  of  his  critics  has  said,  “when  we 
have  recognized  Benozzo’s  faults  and  failures,  these  frescos  of  his  in  the  Campo 
Santo  have  a charm  that  is  not  easily  explained.  They  breathe  the  fresh, 
healthful  gladness  of  pastoral  themes,  the  delight  in  natural  beauties,  in  youth, 
and  mirth,  and  laughter.”  Unfortunately,  owing  to  their  exposed  position  and 
to  neglect  in  times  past,  these  works  are  in  a state  of  almost  irretrievable  ruin; 
indeed,  two  of  the  designs  are  wholly  obliterated,  and  even  from  the  best 
preserved  no  satisfactory  reproductions  can  be  made.  But  although  they  are 
for  the  most  part  little  more  than  faded  ghosts — suggestions  from  which  the 
artist’s  intention  rather  than  his  achievement  can  be  studied  — “what  ex- 
pressive ghosts  they  are,”  writes  Arsene  Alexandre,  “what  eloquent  ruins! 
As  a general  thing  the  main  lines  of  the  compositions  are  still  traceable,  fine 
groups  of  figures  full  of  intense  life  rise  here  and  there  before  our  eyes,  while 
bits  of  landscape,  decorative  details,  cities,  hills,  orchards,  vine-laden  pergolas, 
all  contribute  towards  the  making  of  one  of  the  most  marvelous  representa- 
tions of  cultivated  nature  ever  created  by  art.” 

Plate  x,  ‘The  Vintage,’  represents  a large  portion  of  the  fresco  entitled 
‘The  Drunkenness  of  Noah,’  the  first  of  the  series  to  be  painted,  and  gen- 
erally regarded  as  the  finest.  The  scene  is  such  as  the  artist  must  often  have 
witnessed  in  the  grape  country  of  Tuscany.  Young  men  mounted  on  ladders 
are  gathering  the  grapes  which  grow  in  rich  clusters  on  a trellis,  while  young 
women  bear  away  to  the  wine-press  baskets  loaded  with  the  luscious  fruit. 
In  the  center  is  an  open  vat  filled  with  ripe  grapes  which  are  being  trodden  un- 
der foot  by  a bare-legged  youth,  who  crushes  from  them  the  red  juice  to  be 
converted  into  wine. 

A group  in  the  foreground  shows  us  the  aged  Noah,  resting  his  hand  upon 
the  head  of  a little  child  beside  him,  while  another  child,  frightened  by  a dog 
barking  at  two  boys  seated  on  the  ground  near-by,  clings  to  his  robe.  Farther 
to  the  right,  Noah  is  again  introduced  among  a group  of  women,  holding  in 
his  hand  a goblet  of  wine. 

The  portion  of  the  picture  not  reproduced  represents  the  patriarch  over- 
come by  the  intoxicating  liquid.  That  part  of  the  fresco  has  suffered  severely, 
and  in  many  places  the  original  work  has  been  lost  in  that  of  so-called  re- 
storers. 

“Nowhere,”  writes  a recent  critic,  “has  Benozzo  Gozzoli  given  stronger 
proof  of  his  creative  powers,  his  naturalness,  and  his  charming  fancy  than  in 

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BENOZZO  GOZZOLI 


41 


this  vintage  scene,  in  which  the  old  Bible  story  is  made  the  excuse,  so  to  speak, 
for  the  portrayal  of  an  idyllic  picture  of  Italian  rural  life.” 

A LIST  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  WORKS  OF  BENOZZO  GOZZOLI 
WITH  THEIR  PRESENT  LOCATIONS 

AUSTRIA.  Vienna,  Imperial  Gallery:  Madonna  and  Child  with  Saints  — ENG- 
..  LAND.  London,  National  Gallery:  Virgin  and  Child  Enthroned;  The  Rape  of 
Helen  (Plate  ix  ) — FRANCE.  Paris,  Louvre:  Triumph  of  St.  Thomas  Aquinas  — 
GERMANY.  Berlin  Gallery:  Madonna,  Saints,  and  Angels  — ITALY.  Castel- 
fiorentino,  Chapel  of  Santa  Chiara:  Tabernacle  with  frescos  — Certaldo,  Chapel 
of  the  Giustiziate:  Tabernacle  with  frescos  — Florence, Riccardi  Palace:  [Chapel] 
(frescos)  Procession  of  the  Magi  (see  Plates  i and  n);  Annunciation  to  the  Shepherds; 
Paradise  (see  Plate  in)  — Florence,  Uffizi  Gallery:  Pieta  and  Saints  (predella  of  an 
altar-piece)  — Montefalco,  Church  of  San  Fortunato  (outside  the  town):  Ma- 
donna, Saints,  and  Angels  (fresco  over  portal);  Apotheosis  of  St.  Fortunatus  (fresco); 
Annunciation  (fresco)  — Montefalco,  Church  of  San  Francesco:  [Choir]  (frescos) 
Birth  of  St.  Francis  and  Episode  of  the  Cloak;  St.  Francis  gives  his  Dress  to  the  Poor, 
and  the  Dream  of  St.  Francis;  St.  Francis  protected  from  his  Father’s  Anger;  Meeting  of 
St,  Francis  and  St.  Dominic,  and  the  Virgin  warding  off  Thunderbolts;  St.  Francis  sup- 
porting the  falling  Church;  St.  Francis  expelling  Devils  from  Arezzo  (Plate  iv);  St.  Francis 
and  the  Birds;  St.  Francis  blessing  the  Donors;  St.  Francis  and  the  Cavalier  of  Celano; 
Celebration  of  the  Nativity  at  Greccio  (Plate  v);  St.  Francis  before  the  Soldan;  St.  Fran- 
cis receiving  the  Stigmata;  Death  of  St.  Francis;  Five  medallions  of  Saints;  Portraits  of 
Petrarch,  Dante,  and  Giotto;  Figures  of  Saints  and  Angels;  [Chapel  of  St.  Jerome] 
Madonna  and  Child,  with  the  Crucifixion  and  Scenes  from  the  Life  of  St.  Jerome — Monte 
Oliveto  (convent  near  Siena):  Crucifixion  (fresco)  — Perugia  Gallery:  Madonna 
and  Child  with  Saints  — Pisa,  Academy  of  Fine  Arts:  Madonna  and  Child  with 
Saints,  and  Angels;  Madonna,  Child,  and  St.  Anne — Pisa,  Campo  Santo:  (frescos) 
The  Drunkenness  of  Noah  (see  Plate  x);  Curse  of  Ham;  Tower  of  Babel;  Abraham 
and  the  Worshippers  of  Baal;  Abraham  and  Lot  in  Egypt;  Abraham’s  Victory;  Abraham 
and  Hagar;  Burning  of  Sodom;  Sacrifice  of  Isaac;  Marriage  of  Isaac  and  Rebekah;  Birth 
of  Jacob  and  Esau;  Marriage  of  Jacob  and  Rachel;  Meeting  of  Jacob  and  Esau,  and  Ab- 
duction of  Dinah;  Innocence  of  Joseph;  Joseph  made  known  to  his  Brethren;  Infancy  of 
Moses;  Passage  of  the  Red  Sea;  Tables  of  the  Law;  Aaron’s  Rod  and  the  Brazen  Ser- 
pent; Fall  of  Jericho,  and  Death  of  Goliath;  Destruction  of  Dathan  and  Abiram  (obliter- 
ated); Death  of  Aaron  (obliterated);  Visit  of  the  Queen  of  Sheba  to  King  Solomon; 
Annunciation;  Adoration  of  the  Magi  — Rome,  Church  of  Santa  Maria  in  Ara- 
cceli:  St.  Anthony  and  Angels  (fresco)  — Rome,  Lateran  Museum:  The  Assumption 
— San  Gimignano,  Church  of  Sant’  Agostino:  [Choir]  (frescos)  Entrance  of  St. 
Augustine  into  the  Grammar-school  (Plate  vi);  Admission  of  St.  Augustine  to  the 
University  of  Carthage;  St.  Monica  praying  for  her  Son;  Passage  of  St.  Augustine  from 
Africa  to  Italy;  Reception  upon  his  Arrival;  St.  Augustine  teaching  at  Rome;  De- 
parture for  Milan;  Meeting  of  St.  Augustine  and  St.  Ambrose;  St.  Augustine  hears  St. 
Ambrose  preach;  St.  Augustine  reading  St.  Paul’s  Epistles;  Baptism  of  St.  Augustine; 
St.  Augustine  visits  the  Monks  of  Monte  Pisano  (Plate  vn);  Death  of  St.  Monica;  St. 
Augustine  and  his  Congregation;  Triumph  of  St.  Augustine;  St.  Augustine  in  Ecstasy; 
Funeral  of  St.  Augustine  (Plate  viii);  Saints  and  Evangelists;  [Chapel]  St.  Sebastian 
preserving  San  Gimignano  from  the  Plague  — San  Gimignano,  Church  of  Sant’ 
Andrea  (outside  the  town):  Madonna  and  Child  — San  Gimignano,  Cathedral: 
[Choir]  Martyrdom  of  St.  Sebastian;  [Chapel  of  Santa  Fina]  Madonna  and  Child 
with  Saints  — San  Gimignano,  Municipal  Museum:  Crucifixion  (fresco)  — Volterra, 
Cathedral,  Chapel  of  the  Virgin:  Procession  of  the  Magi  (fresco  background  to  a 
Della  Robbia  ‘Nativity’). 


[251] 


42 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


3Seno^o  dlo^olt  JStMtograpfjp 

A LIST  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  BOOKS  AND  MAGAZINE  ARTICLES 
DEALING  WITH  BENOZZO  GOZZOLI 

THE  literature  upon  Benozzo  Gozzoli  consists  chiefly  of  notices,  more  or  less  detailed, 
contained  in  the  various  histories  of  Italian  art,  and  of  specific  studies  of  the  different 
fields  of  his  labors.  In  addition  to  these  there  is  a brief  illustrated  monograph  of  the 
painter  by  Hugh  Stokes  (London,  1904). 

ALEXANDRE,  A.  Histoire  populaire  de  la  peinture:  ecole  italienne.  Paris  [1894]  — 
Berenson,  B.  Florentine  Painters  of  the  Renaissance.  London,  1900  — Blanc,  C. 
Histoire  de  la  Renaissance  artistique  en  Italie.  Paris,  1889  — Brinton,  S.  The  Renais- 
sance in  Italian  Art.  London,  1898 — Burckhardt,  J.  Der  Cicerone.  Leipsic,  1898  — 
Cartwright,  J.  The  Painters  of  Florence.  London,  1901 — Crowe,  J.  A.,  and 
Cavalcaselle,  G.  B.  History  of  Painting  in  Italy.  London,  1864 — Gaye,  G.  Car- 
teggio  inedito  degli  artisti  dei  secoli  xiv.,  xv.,  xvi.  Florence,  1839-40 — Jameson,  A. 
Memoirs  of  Early  Italian  Painters.  Boston,  1896  — Kugler,  F.  T.  Italian  Schools  of 
Painting:  Revised  by  A.  H.  Layard.  London,  1900  — Lafenestre,  G.  La  peinture 
italienne.  Paris  [1885]  — Lubke,  W.  History  of  Art.  New  York,  1904 — Mantz,  P. 
Benozzi  Gozzoli  (in  Blanc’s  Histoire  des  peintres).  Paris,  1876 — Muntz,  E.  Histoire 
de  l’art  pendant  la  Renaissance.  Paris,  1889  — Perate,  A.  Gozzoli  (in  La  Grande  En- 
cyclopedic). Paris,  1886-1902  — Pitture  a fresco  del  Campo  Santo  di  Pisa  intagliate  da 
Carlo  Lasinio.  Florence,  1812  — Ponsonailhe,  C.  £ Les  Vendanges  de  Noe’  par  Benozzo 
Gozzoli  (in  Jouin’s  Chefs-d’oeuvre).  Paris,  1899  — Rio,  A.  F.  De  Part  chretien.  Paris, 
1864  — Rosini,  G.  Descrizione  delle  pitture  del  Campo  Santo  di  Pisa.  Pisa,  1837 
— Rumohr,  C.  F.  v.  Italienische  Forschungen.  Berlin,  1827-31  — Stillman,  W.  J. 
Old  Italian  Masters.  New  York,  1892  — Stokes,  H.  Benozzi  Gozzoli.  London  [1904] 
— Supino,  I.  B.  II  Camposanto  di  Pisa.  Florence,  1896 — Symonds,  J.  A.  Renais- 
sance in  Italy.  London,  1897  — Vasari,  G;  Lives  of  the  Painters.  New  York,  1897 
— Wherry,  A.  Stories  of  the  Tuscan  Artists.  New  York,  1901  — Wingenroth,  M. 
Die  Jugendwerke  des  Benozzo  Gozzoli.  Heidelberg,  1897  — Woltmann,  A.,  and 
Woermann,  K.  History  of  Painting:  Trans,  by  Clara  Bell.  London,  1895. 


MAGAZINE  ARTICLES 

ARCHIVIO  storico  dell’ arte,  1889:  H.  Thode;  Pitture  di  maestri  italiani  nelle 
_ galleria  minori  di  Germania.  1890:  N.  Baldoria;  Monumenti  artistici  in  San  Gimig- 
nano— L’Art,  1881:  M.  Faucon;  Benozzo  Gozzoli  a San  Gimignano  — L’Arte,  1901: 
A.  Venturi;  Beato  Angelico  e Benozzo  Gozzoli.  1903:  A.  Rossi;  Un  affresco  di  Benozzo 
Gozzoli.  1904:  P.  D’Achiardi;  I restauri  agli  affresco  di  Benozzo  Gozzoli  nel  Campo- 
santo di  Pisa.  1904:  P.  D’Achiardi;  Una  tavola  di  Benozzo — Gazette  des  Beaux- 
Arts,  1859:  P.  E.  Giudici;  Les  fresques  de  San  Gemignano.  1870:  G.  Gruyer;  Les 
Monuments  de  Part  a San  Gimignano  — Miscellana  Francescana:  F.  Christofori;  La 
vita  di  Santa  Rosa  dipinta  a fresco  da  Benozzo  Gozzoli  nel  1 45 3 — Portfolio,  1883: 
J.  Cartwright;  Benozzo  Gozzoli. 


[252] 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


flroericau 
SUt 

XIV  LESSONS 

Guided  by  a Topic  Book. 

THE  cultivated  American  should  become 
acquainted  with  the  art  of  his  own  country. 
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WITH  TOPIC  BOOK  No.  VI. 

Subject  of  first  lesson : “Artistic  Resources  of 
Our  Country.”  This  alone  is  worth  knowing. 

ILLUSTRATIONS 

40  selected  Raphael  Prints,  4x5,  outline  the  course. 

6 dozen  4x5  Raphael  Prints  give  further  light. 

16  dozen  miniature  size  add  further  examples  of 
beauty. 

Send  for  leaflet  of  Raphael  Prints  and  illustra- 
ted Booklet  of  The  Traveler’s  Art  Club,  free. 

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lPicture-XiQbting 

Is  in  Itself  an  Art. 

Fine  paintings  are  often  spoiled  by  ineffective 
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is  being  used  in  a large  number  of  the  finest 
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practice  will  make  amaccornplished  pen-draughtsman  ; but  this  little 
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MASTERS  IN  MUSIC 


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The  aristocrat  of  musical  publications. 

— Times,  Hamilton,  Ont. 
The  idea  is  happily  conceived  and  finely  exe- 
cuted.— Musical  Record  and  Review. 

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Wis. 

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Chicago,  111. 

Without  exception  the  finest  publication  of  the 
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‘ Masters  in  Music 


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of  all  that  is  desirable  to  know  concerning  one 
of  the  great  composers. — Sunday  Courier,  Buf- 


falo, N.  Y. 

treats  of  the  great  composers  as  4 Masters  in  Art  ’ does  of  the  great  painters 
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